LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The GNSS IC market is showing steady revenue growth in 2012, with the
industry now setting its sights on the next major milestone: $3 Billion.

The smartphone market remains over 70% of revenue in 2012, but is an
increasingly difficult market for standalone GPS IC vendors. For those
that remain, indoor location will be the next major make-or-break
technology, while also presenting the potential to generate additional
revenue, as illustrated by Qualcomm’s IZat platform. However, in the
latest edition of its GPS & GNSS Market Data, ABI Research is
forecasting that as the overall GNSS market continues to grow, cellular
will become less important, declining to approximately 55% of revenues
in 2017. The reason is the changing landscape of the GNSS market, as new
opportunities emerge across a range of portable device markets.

As illustrated, ABI Research is forecasting a major shift in the market
mix for GPS ICs, as new markets emerge around tablets, cameras,
femtocells, M2M, fitness, and personal tracking and IC vendors become
less reliant on the more traditional PND and the in-car markets. This
should create opportunities for combo-ICs modules, indoor and
software-based implementations. Senior analyst Patrick Connolly
commented, “All major vendors are re-assessing their design approaches
for emerging markets, by U-Blox’s acquisition of Fastrax and the recent
CSR-Samsung deal.”

Practice director, Dominique Bonte added, “Breaking $2 Billion
illustrates how valuable the consumer GNSS IC market has become. The
year 2013 will bring significant change and opportunities to the market,
with new indoor technologies, emerging vertical markets, and
competitors.”

This quarterly Market Data, entitled “GPS &GNSS” focuses on the GPS IC
and in-car navigation device markets. The database includes shipments
and revenues split by region and key vertical market. These findings are
part of ABI Research’s GPS
& GNSS (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/gps-gnss/)
Research Service which includes Research Reports, Market Data, Insights,
and Competitive Assessments.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of
trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From
offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team
of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and
advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com,
or call +1.516.624.2500.